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Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Is there an easy way to turn non-memoir into memoir?

I’ve been telling you of new
discoveries I made while reflecting on an old photo from my family’s years in
South America.

In a thousand ways, that time was a
most wonderful adventure—even though I confessed last week that I refused to unpack and plotted ways to run away. By Christmas, I was
begging my husband to agree to stay another year. And we did. And another year
after that.

The mission center was a paradise for
kids: collecting butterflies and insects, chasing bulls, hunting alligators,
mud sliding, fishing for piranhas that could rip out an apple-size piece of
flesh in a split second, eating grubs, swimming with stingrays—what’s not for a
kid to love?

And the tropical vegetation! This
Seattle gal lived surrounded by plants I knew from only florist shops back
home: hibiscus, orchids, gardenias. Before moving to South America, a gardenia,
to me, was a very special corsage for a very special date, but down there, I
had a gardenia hedge! An entire hedge of
gardenias—gardenias by the hundreds, gardenias by the thousands! Heavenly.

And the people we worked alongside—courageous,
funny, tenacious, brilliant, friendly, creative, fun-loving, and the most
dedicated you could ever find. We made life-long friends there.

For my kids, I’ve already assembled, in
three-ring binders, a couple hundred pages of letters I wrote home—but that photo I ran across recently.…

That snapshot is begging me not to be content with just the historical
facts. It’s urging me to tell a
bigger, broader story, one I had previously overlooked like an elephant in the room.

That photo pointed out a theme (an important part of memoir)
that was there all along—it was a given
in the back of my mind all these years—but I had not put it in writing.

Remember the definition of memoir—it includes reflection and inspection and digging for deeper meaning: What was
the big picture? What was happening on a larger scale, and on a smaller scale?
What was God doing? How did it make us who we are today?

Now I need—and want—to turn those pages
of non-memoir into memoir.

But how much time and
effort do I want to put into the project?That
question has been nagging me for the past couple of weeks.

Do I want to start again
from scratch?

No. No I don’t.

So I’ve been asking
myself: Is there an easy way to turn non-memoir into memoir?

Yes, perhaps.

What if I included that new info in an Introduction and an Epilogue?

In the Intro, I could foreshadow our family’s and colleagues’ theme (guerrilla threats and attacks). I
could write about receiving a telex, just as we were ready to fly out of the
States, telling us to delay our arrival by ten days because our facility had
been bombed. And I could tell about the next bomb threat a few days later, and additional
threats—bombings and more—received after that.

The Epilogue could emphasize the
bigger victory: that the guerrillas
did not win even though they took Chet’s life.

“The
guerrillas had intended to oust the [Bible] translators; instead they
entrenched them. Almost a decade of negative press gave way to supportive
editorials,” wrote author Steve Estes in Called to Die. After Chet’s death, Estes said, the Bible translators “basked in the effusive
support that followed from President Turbay on down.”

The work of Bible translation
flourished in jaw-dropping ways no one could have anticipated. Across the U.S.,
people signed up to fill the gap created by Chet’s death: Wycliffe Bible
Translators saw applications double
for overseas work.

I want my kids to know about the
uncommon faith of their neighbors and their classmates’ parents and about the
God they served. I want my grandkids to know, too.

8 comments:

I think the addition of an introduction and an epilogue will help accomplish what you need and want to accomplish. You may need some slight edits to certain chapters too. You will know more when you start to undertake the work. God bless as you move forward.

Thanks for your encouragement, Penny. I'm glad you mentioned slight edits to some chapters--I'll keep that in mind. Another thought: since the letters are in three-ring binders, I could insert stories/vignettes between them. Thanks so much, Penny.

Linda, I think the message coming through in these last few posts is that you must turn non-memoir into memoir. Your concept of using the initroduction and epilogue to fill in certain details and show the importance of the two sections. But I believe firmly that God is calling you to do this . . . and I extend His blessings on you as you consider, pray and perhaps start your new project!

Linda, When I read this, I get the sense that a picture is developing right before my eyes like a photo in a dark room coming to light and life. I can feel your energy and passion for your story and it gives me renewed energy and passion for my own story. I agree with Lia, "awesome in an awe-inspiring way" how our story comes alive when we connect it with God's presence and calling in our lives. Wow!

Quoting and Linking

Grandma's Letters from Africa

All I ever wanted was to live a quiet, secure life in a little white house with a picket fence and a rose garden, but my husband Dave—a free spirit who seldom limits himself to coloring within other people’s lines—and our adventuresome God had other plans. Just when our youngest finished college, both Dave and God hollered, “Africa!” You can read about my adventures in Grandma’s Letters from Africa, by Linda K. Thomas.

Grandma’s Letters from Africa received Editor’s Choice, Rising Star, and Reader's Choice awards from the publisher. In addition, the book will soon be listed in the Barnes&Noble.com Special Collections Boutique.

What others are saying

Grandma’s Letters from Africa is an engaging, memorable account of Linda’s years in Africa. It was a privilege for me to read over the shoulders of her granddaughters as Linda tells her story through a series of letters. Through both laughter and tears, she learns to balance her roles as missionary, wife, mother, and grandmother. In the process, Linda falls in love with Africa, its people, and her work. Readers will be moved by this compelling story that reveals God’s heart and extraordinary grace. (Bob Creson, President/CEO, Wycliffe USA)

Read more endorsements, reviews, and follow Linda’s blog at http://grandmaslettersfromafrica.blogspot.com